Despite explosive gains in our understanding of the basic mechanisms of human disease, meaningful[unreadable] translation of this knowledge to the treatment ahd prevention of disease has moved slowly. To[unreadable] accelerate the pace at which discoveries in basic science can serve the health of our patients and[unreadable] community, we intend to establish a Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) at trip University[unreadable] of California, San Francisco (UCSF). Its mission will be to create a comprehensive, integrated[unreadable] academic home that.promotes research and education in clinical and translational science at UCSF, at[unreadable] affiliated institutions, and in participating communities. Its goals are: (1) to support, enhance, and[unreadable] integrate existing training programs, increasing the number of trainees from diverse disciplines and[unreadable] improving the quality of their training in clinical and translational research methods; (2) to support,[unreadable] improve, and integrate existing infrastructure to enhance the design and implementation of clinical and[unreadable] translational studies, fostering collaborations to achieve a diverse spectrum of high quality, original[unreadable] research; (3) to enhance career development of clinical and translational researchers by providing[unreadable] mentoring and opportunities to catalyze original research and by changing the academic culture to[unreadable] appropriately reward multidisciplinary collaborative work; (4)1o create a "Virtual Home" providing[unreadable] contemporary communications to simplify collaboration, to provide an optimal informatics matrix for[unreadable] conducting innovative research, and to nurture the growth of clinical and translational science.[unreadable] To reach these goals, UCSF is transforming its clinical and translational research organization to[unreadable] establish 13 interrelated programs that will provide the training, services, and opportunities needed.[unreadable] These programs are led by senior scientists drawn from diverse disciplines in each of UCSPs four[unreadable] health science schools?Dentistry, Medicine, Nursing, and Pharmacy?and its Graduate Division. The[unreadable] plans reflect input from more than 200 interested, energetic, and committed participants from[unreadable] throughout the community, including most of UCSF's academic leaders. These individuals worked[unreadable] collaboratively to ensure inclusion, transparency, and flexibility in the design and planned[unreadable] implementation of the CTSI. A significant financial commitment to the CTSI vision has been provided by[unreadable] the four schools and by the Chancellor's Office. We believe that this[unreadable] infusion of new energy and resources will create and sustain a rich environment for innovative research[unreadable] and drive the realization of UCSF's full potential to educate and to support the work of clinical and[unreadable] translational scientists. If so, biomedicine will be advanced and the health of our patients and the[unreadable] community will benefit.